Netflix Will Release 80 Original Movies in 2018 As Part Of Their $8 Billion Content Spend

Netflix is raising the stakes once again, this time on the original movie side of its business. The streaming giant has plans to release around 80 original movies next year, up from about 50 this year. Netflix‘s decision to beef up their original film slate comes as the company has faced backlash over raising their subscription prices and their ever-growing debt.

Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos announced news of the 80-film goal yesterday at an investors’ interview about the service’s third-quarter results. According to Sarandos, these films “range anywhere from the million-dollar Sundance hit, all the way up to something on a much larger scale,” like the upcoming Will Smith film Bright.

Netflix may be known for television–Sarandos and CEO Reed Hastings concluded the interview by putting on Stranger Things-themed sweaters–but the platform hopes to change all that. Said Sarandos, “I think people will start seeing the potential for this original movie initiative, that it could be done on the enormous scale we have on the television side.”